Topic Browse
Select the Topic Browse tab at the top of the page to help you narrow a broad topic.
Select from the eight broad topics listed. Choose "Subject Index" to see a list of narrower topics under the broad heading.
Leading Issues
Use the Leading Issues list to search the most popular topics. You are provided with a Topic Overview. Expand (click "more..." at the end of the paragraph) to see a summary of the key issues on this subject. To the right, under Further Research, look at the Pro/Con Issues section.
Look at the Pro/Con Issues Essential Questions section to understand both sides of your topic.
Keyword Searching Use the Quick Search text box to search by a Keyword.
In the Narrow Your Results box look at Matching Subjects for additional topics.
Look at the See Also bar for more suggestions.
Once you have a list of articles you can look at the Subjects list at the end of each article to see related topics (articles retrieved will be those categorized under the term).
Finding Articles
Once you have decided on your topic and have a list of articles:
Select the tabs (Statistics, Timeline) to obtain more information on the topic and (Research Guides, Note Organizer) to access guides to doing your research and writing your paper.
Change the "Sort" of the articles provided by: Relevance (how closely the article matches your search term), Date, or Format (magazine, view point, reference).
Look at the "Go To" box on the right side of page for Citation format.
Pick the right one for your research: Google is not always the best choice. Clusty : Provides a list of related and narrower topics suggestions.
Books When searching for a book on your topic, do not expect an entire book to always be devoted to your specific topic. You will usually need to think broader; that is, look for books that have titles that describe an area that includes your topic. For example, the topic:
poaching may be found in a book on hunting;
music downloading may be found in a book on Internet piracy; or
health care in China may be described in a medical book describing bird flu.
To find books in the BRRHS, use the Spectrum Online Catalog: Click on the icon on your PC desktop for Spectrum Patron's Catalog. Spectrum automatically opens to the Easy Search Screen. If you type a word or a phrase in the search bar, a complete listing of books will appear on the screen.
Clicking on the tabs at the top of the results screen will sort by call number, title, author, or date. Sorting by call number will show you areas of the library where the books will be found.
While holding down the Control key, sort through the books using the mouse to highlight the books you want to print in your bibliography. Click on the PrintHighlighted button to print your selected list. The list of books printed will have all of the elements you need to write an MLA citation (however, you will need to edit the information to assure that it follows all required MLA standards). Reference Books: Just about every topic has a specialized encyclopedia. These encyclopedias are usually quite extensive in their coverage and may be used for your research paper. They are not the same as general encyclopedias, such as World Book Encyclopedia, which may be good for background information, but often will not be accepted by teachers as a cited source for a formal research paper. Thesebooks will have a call number starting with REF and can be found in the low shelves in the Library. Find an encyclopedia thatbroadly covers your topic. Not all special encyclopedias organize information alphabetically; you may need to look-up your topic in the index. Public Library
Somerset County Library’s On-line Catalog
Check the “Webpac” catalog to see what they own on your topic. Reserve materials by typing in the Barcode number from your
Somerset County Library Card.
Controversial Issues Topic Selection
To access the Library's subscription databases go to the Library Home Page: http://www.brrsd.net/curric/HS/library/index.html and select Online Databases (upper left section of page).
Click on the link to the database that you want to search and enter the User ID and Password in the login page.
ID: nj08807
Password: panthers
Selecting a Research Topic
Choose a topic in which you are interested.
Choose a topic that has enough information to support your thesis.
Tools to help you select a topic
1. Subscription Databases
SIRS
Topic Browse
Select the Topic Browse tab at the top of the page to help you narrow a broad topic.
Select from the eight broad topics listed. Choose "Subject Index" to see a list of narrower topics under the broad heading.
Leading Issues
Use the Leading Issues list to search the most popular topics. You are provided with a Topic Overview. Expand (click "more..." at the end of the paragraph) to see a summary of the key issues on this subject. To the right, under Further Research, look at the Pro/Con Issues section.
Look at the Pro/Con Issues Essential Questions section to understand both sides of your topic.
Keyword Searching
Use the Quick Search text box to search by a Keyword.
In the Narrow Your Results box look at Matching Subjects for additional topics.
Look at the See Also bar for more suggestions.
Once you have a list of articles you can look at the Subjects list at the end of each article to see related topics (articles retrieved will be those categorized under the term).
Finding Articles
Once you have decided on your topic and have a list of articles:Select the tabs (Statistics, Timeline) to obtain more information on the topic and (Research Guides, Note Organizer) to access guides to doing your research and writing your paper.
Change the "Sort" of the articles provided by: Relevance (how closely the article matches your search term), Date, or Format (magazine, view point, reference).
Look at the "Go To" box on the right side of page for Citation format.
2. Internet - the World Wide Web (WWW)
There are lots of Search Engines available: Check out this list.
Pick the right one for your research: Google is not always the best choice.
Clusty : Provides a list of related and narrower topics suggestions.
Books
When searching for a book on your topic, do not expect an entire book to always be devoted to your specific topic. You will usually need to think broader; that is, look for books that have titles that describe an area that includes your topic. For example, the topic:
To find books in the BRRHS, use the Spectrum Online Catalog: Click on the icon on your PC desktop for Spectrum Patron's Catalog.
Spectrum automatically opens to the Easy Search Screen. If you type a word or a phrase in the search bar, a complete listing of books will appear on the screen.
Clicking on the tabs at the top of the results screen will sort by call number, title, author, or date. Sorting by call number will show you areas of the library where the books will be found.
While holding down the Control key, sort through the books using the mouse to highlight the books you want to print in your bibliography. Click on the Print Highlighted button to print your selected list. The list of books printed will have all of the elements you need to write an MLA citation (however, you will need to edit the information to assure that it follows all required MLA standards).
Reference Books:
Just about every topic has a specialized encyclopedia. These encyclopedias are usually quite extensive in their coverage and may be used for your research paper. They are not the same as general encyclopedias, such as World Book Encyclopedia, which may be good for background information, but often will not be accepted by teachers as a cited source for a formal research paper. These books will have a call number starting with REF and can be found in the low shelves in the Library. Find an encyclopedia thatbroadly covers your topic. Not all special encyclopedias organize information alphabetically; you may need to look-up your topic in the index.
Public Library
Somerset County Library’s On-line Catalog
Check the “Webpac” catalog to see what they own on your topic. Reserve materials by typing in the Barcode number from your
Somerset County Library Card.